Vehicle Thefts Drop In Westport, But Challenges Remain For Police

WESTPORT, CT — Having a motor vehicle stolen is an awful experience, but in Westport, fewer residents are falling victim to the crime in recent years, according to police.

In 2021, Westport had 93 vehicles stolen, Westport Police Lt. Eric Woods told Patch. Of those, 73 were recovered. This recovered number includes stolen vehicles from other jurisdictions that were located in Westport as well.

The following year, 2022, Westport experienced 57 stolen motor vehicles, but recoveries totaled 62, Woods said, which again, "may include vehicles stolen elsewhere that were recovered here."

In the first half of 2023 (January 1 to July 1), 26 motor vehicles were stolen in Westport, and of those 26, "18 have been recovered thus far." In 2023, the department switched to a new records management system, which allows it to more easily distinguish where the recovered vehicle came from; as a result, the department recovered seven vehicles that had been stolen from other towns.

If an equal number of vehicles — or fewer — are stolen in the second half of 2023, Westport could again see a drop in car thefts, albeit a slight decrease. Woods said the department believes how residents are handling their vehicles is making a difference.

"We feel the decrease in stolen vehicles is attributable to Westport residents heeding our advice and locking their cars," Woods told Patch.

Driving most motor vehicles thefts in Westport and around the state are juvenile offenders, according to Woods and Westport Police Chief Foti Koskinas, who recently spoke publicly about the problem, Westport Journal reported.

While the number of vehicles stolen in Westport has dropped, that does not mean local police are dealing with fewer car thefts overall.

Woods said that on average, Westport officers encounter "1-2 stolen vehicles a day" from other communities, and the offenders are often "looking to commit crimes" in town or elsewhere.

Westport police are part of a regional task force on stolen vehicles, and Woods said that in the first nine months of 2022, "the regional task force that our officer is a part of, was responsible for the recovery of 178 stolen vehicles, 45 firearms, and 140 arrests."

Stopping these young thieves is difficult, partly because, for safety reasons, Westport police do not engage in high-speed pursuits of criminals, and, as Koskinas recently told a forum, "Kids don’t go to jail anymore," due to changes in the juvenile justice system, as quoted by the Westport Journal.

"The point of the Chief's comments was that we have stolen vehicles from other jurisdictions in town every night with criminals looking to commit crimes, and there is not much we can do because they do not stop when we try to apprehend them," Woods said.

In the meantime, the department will "continue to remind [Westport] owners to lock their vehicles."